Chapter 252

Melania, having alighted from the carriage, gazed blankly at the mansion. It was truly strange. Despite being the home she had lived in her entire life, everything felt as awkward as if she were visiting someone else’s house.

The trampled grass, bloodstains on the marble floor, fallen and broken ornaments, torn curtains, and the entrance where not a soul welcomed her arrival.

Melania pushed open the half-open door and entered.

Creeak.

“Hey. Who’s there? You shouldn’t come in carelessly. Are you perhaps from the Hayman family?”

At the end of the corridor, groups of imperial soldiers who had gathered called out, sensing her presence. They hadn’t recognized Melania. Just as she was about to respond, the soldier who had escorted her from the palace followed her in.

“This is Lady Melania, the youngest daughter of the Hayman family. Don’t mind her and continue with your duties.”

“Ah, I see. Carry on.”

“Where is Captain Jeirutt?”

“He said he was going to search the training grounds one more time, just in case.”

Melania bit her lip hard. The simple words of the soldiers, telling her not to mind, reminded her once again of her predicament.

She resolutely turned and climbed the stairs. Creak creak. Since when had the stairs made such noises? All her senses awakened her to how everything had fallen into disarray.

Boom! Crash!

“Melania!”

“Brother!”

Her younger brother, hearing the commotion downstairs, came running out. Aside from his disheveled clothes and mussed hair, his eyes, steeped in despair, were particularly a mess. He embraced his sister tightly and poured out his worried greetings.

“Melania, are you alright? Father and Mother? Big Brother?”

“Brother, let’s go inside first. We’ll talk inside.”

“Please, tell me first. Is everyone alright? What happened at the palace? Huh?”

Melania glanced around. The upper floor was empty as well. She had surely instructed the servants to keep their posts…

She sat down on the stairs with her younger brother and ran her hand through her hair. A sigh, drenched in sweat, escaped her unknowingly.

“Before that, what happened to everyone here?”

“Don’t even mention it. I’ve only now realized the true nature of these people.”

Half of the mansion’s staff had left immediately after Melania departed in the carriage. The imperial soldiers’ hint that they wouldn’t receive their wages had played a significant role.

No matter how long their loyalty had been cultivated, they had their own lives outside the mansion. Their families, lovers, and friends were waiting for them outside, not within these walls.

“Brother. That’s how it is. When darkness falls, even my shadow abandons me, so how could we expect others to stay? Don’t resent them. We lack the strength to move forward if we waste it on resentment.”

“The imperial soldiers counted and took away the slaves. Somehow, they knew the exact number. The private soldiers were also disbanded. Some who resisted were severely beaten and taken to the hospital. The butler is paying for their treatment with his personal funds for now…”

The younger brother rubbed his face vigorously with a dry hand. How on earth did it come to this? How is it that the Hayman family can’t even afford to pay for their people’s medical treatment and has to rely on the butler’s pocket?

Melania comforted her brother, who had witnessed and endured everything. Regrettably, this is just the beginning. Brother. We’ve already left the starting point, and only death awaits us at the end. Melania swallowed these words that wouldn’t come out.

“Brother. Don’t you remember? The children of Hayman played marbles with gemstones and cut silk for their scissor games. If we seize even a small opportunity, paying the staff’s wages won’t be a problem. The end of Hayman won’t be so miserable.”

“Melania, what do you mean by the end! Now, tell me. What exactly is happening inside? And you? How did you get out?”

Melania grasped his hands tightly. Then, in a very low voice, she informed him that the fate of Hayman was standing on the edge of a cliff.

“Father, Mother, and Big Brother will be executed. It seems this cannot be reversed. Lord Ian, the Minister of Magic, said he wouldn’t back down.”

“Damn it! Damn it!”

Bang! Thud!

He let out an anguished cry and stomped his feet. Downstairs, a couple of soldiers slightly raised their heads, wondering what was going on.

“But there’s still a chance.”

“A chance? Mother and Father are going to die! The family is in ruins and we’re penniless! What chance?”

“We are-!”

Melania firmly grasped her brother’s shoulders. The woman’s eyes sparkled brightly. It was the resolute stance of someone walking into a massive storm.

“We are the very existence of Hayman. If we live, Hayman lives. You haven’t forgotten, have you? Even the greatest of families started with just one person.”

“Me-Melania…”

Melania couldn’t guarantee her younger brother’s life. No, rather, she knew that the possibility of it ending in tragedy was greater.

After all, it was nearly miraculous for any direct descendants to survive from a family facing extinction for treason. If she hadn’t met Ian in Brats, she wouldn’t have dared to even imagine such a miracle.

“Sereau has been designated as the next family to replace Hayman. Lord Ian suggested it. If we prove our worth to be far superior to Sereau’s, he might spare one or two of us.”

Although Ian’s proposal only included Melania, she didn’t reveal this fact to her younger brother. She knew his nature well. An opportunist, yet weak, and ultimately someone who would choose personal life over honor.

Wouldn’t unnecessary words breed misunderstandings and explanations? At this urgent and sensitive moment, Melania didn’t want that.

“Is, is that true?”

“Yes. So, please pull yourself together. There must be surviving children in the other seven families too, right? We need to work together to turn the tide.”

With this small hope thrown to him, the younger brother’s expression softened slightly. He fumbled in his pocket, searching for cigarettes.

“Well, uh… There’s no carriage available right now.”

“I have the one I came in. And brother, let me caution you just in case, everything is a secret. If other families learn that we have a chance, it will be difficult to maneuver the situation. They might not cooperate out of opposition.”

He nodded repeatedly, biting hard on his dry cigarette.

Melania gently caressed his cheek, her eyes reddening. Ah, brother. When we were young, we used to share secrets hiding by the stairs, but now we whisper prepared for death.

“Melania. If the goal is to check Sereau-“

Melania raised an eyebrow as she carefully stroked her brother’s face.

“So, Sereau is so arrogant now because they’ve gained the trust of Lord Ian and His Highness Jin, right? If we let them know that trust has fallen, won’t their momentum naturally subside?”

“That’s a good opinion, but we shouldn’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“That’s something Lord Ian could do himself. He could directly invite another family for tea, discuss the current situation, and propose future business, naturally indicating that trust has shifted. But Lord Ian isn’t doing that and is trying to use us instead.”

What Ian desires. Or what Ian cannot do. It meant a mud-slinging fight among the nobles. Her brother frowned, breaking his cigarette.

“Could he be planning to use us and then discard us?”

“Of course he would.”

Melania smiled palely. As if she had heard something truly naive.

“But whether he’ll throw us into an incinerator or onto the street depends entirely on his will. Our goal is simply to be discarded while still alive. Do you understand? To achieve that, we must prove our usefulness and satisfy him.”

“H-How…”

“Get ready and come out. I’ll change into something easier to move in as well.”

Melania stood up, gathering her flowing dress with one hand. Then, with determined steps, she ran up to her bedroom.

There’s no time. Shouldn’t we achieve results before the trial proceeds, before everything comes to an end? The brother watched his sister’s retreating figure, then came to his senses and crushed out his cigarette.

***

Ian and Jin were sitting side by side on the office sofa, reading books. His desk was occupied by Romandro, who was sorting through the approval documents that he couldn’t see while lying down.

Thanks to this, Ian was turning pages while having tea time with Jin during a brief rest period.

Rustle.

“Your Highness. Read this.”

“Ca-rderoni.”

“Your pronunciation is excellent.”

“Is it? Hehe.”

Jin smiled broadly at Ian’s praise. Beric, crunching on gula across from them, stepped up to give it a try.

“What is it? Let me try too.”

“…Repeat after me. Ca-rderoni.”

“Caarderoni!”

“…Not bad.”

“But what does it mean?”

“It’s a foreign language. ‘From now on, I won’t eat meat.’”

At Ian’s words, Beric covered his mouth. He wondered if it was a joke, but Ian’s face didn’t change at all, so he couldn’t be sure.

As Beric rolled his eyes in confusion, Jin sitting next to him blinked hard. It must be a signal that it was a joke.

“Ian! Don’t joke about food! Huh? You totally freaked me out!”

“Beric, I received the receipt yesterday. Are you sure you didn’t joke with food? It was an amount that a human couldn’t possibly have eaten. Just eat pork for a while.”

“Ah, shit. I shouldn’t have butted in. Should’ve kept my mouth shut.”

Saying that, he grabbed a handful of gula and stuffed it into his mouth. Romandro, watching this from behind, scratched his chin with his pen and asked Ian.

“By the way, Ian.”

“Yes. Is there a problem with the approval?”

“No, it’s not that, but after proceeding with His Highness Jin’s successor appointment ceremony, what will you do with Beric and Xiaoshi?”

Beric was a magic swordsman but a commoner, and Xiaoshi was a slave. If Jin and Ian continued to be together, it was obvious that they would remain by Jin’s side. Commoners without positions next to royalty, and the future emperor at that. It wouldn’t be a good look. Ian nodded, leaning back on the sofa.

“I’ve been thinking about that. How about putting Beric in the Imperial Guards?”

“Me? Where are you sending me?”

“You’re not going anywhere, just in name.”

The Imperial Guards are largely composed of magic swordsmen. So if he’s to remain in the palace, it’s natural to join them. As Beric jumped up, Ian gestured for him to calm down.

“Just in name? Is that okay?”

“That’s right.”

“Training?”

“I’ll tell Jeirutt. You’ll be affiliated with them, but I’ll have you dispatched to our side. They value each magic swordsman, so they won’t reject the proposal. Now you’ll earn your keep.”

“Ah, am I going to starve to death?”

It was Ian’s intention to exert influence on the Imperial Guards through Beric. In fact, given how much of a rascal he is, it’s questionable how much help he’ll be. But isn’t it better to at least put his name on the roster than to let him play around like this?

“What about Xia?”

“Xia is…”

Ian turned to look at Xiaoshi standing by the door. She was looking at Ian with an impassive face.

“Xia. What do you want to do? Since you’re not a magic swordsman, the Imperial Defense Department would be suitable. Do you want to join there?”

“I don’t mind either way.”

“Then, do you want to buy your slave certificate from me?”

“…Pardon?”

“What’s the current market price, Romandro?”

“Well, I’d have to check, but usually the owner sets the price.”

If a slave can save money to reclaim their slave certificate, they can restore their status. However, since the owner sets the price and it’s difficult for slaves to accumulate private property, it’s practically impossible.

“If you don’t have money, I’ll lend it to you. How about regaining your status and working here to pay it back?”

In essence, she would continue to live much the same as now. But the person closest to the prince can’t be a slave. Xiaoshi, understanding this intention, nodded.

“If you would do that, I would gratefully accept.”

“It’s money you’re paying back. No need for gratitude.”

“No, thank you.”

She would likely be the only one among her ancestors to escape slavery. Xiaoshi recalled her mother dying in a cage, and strangely, her nose stung. She couldn’t understand the source of this emotion.

Knock knock.

At that moment, there was a presence outside.

“Come in.”

“Lord Ian. We’ve received a message from the Department of Justice. They say the trial date for the seven families has been finalized.”

“When did they say?”

“Ten days from now. And…”

“And?”

“Lord Sereau is outside.”

Sereau?

The gazes of Ian, Romandro, Jin, and Xiaoshi met in midair. Beric just yawned widely and scratched his ear.